BSP keeps moratorium on fund transfer fee hikes

As part of financial inclusion efforts, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has kept the moratorium on the increase in InstaPay and PESONet fund transfer fees.

InstaPay is a real-time, low-value digital payments facility that substitutes for cash transactions. PESONet, meanwhile, is a batch electronic funds transfer service that provides an alternative for checks and recurring payments.

“The BSP encourages Filipinos to actively use their accounts for digital payments, savings, and investments,” BSP Governor Eli Remolona, Jr. said in a statement.

This moratorium started in December 2021 through BSP Memorandum No. M-2021-071, which states that financial institutions, which participate in the InstaPay and PESONet automated clearing houses must not increase their current fund transfer fees.

To extend this, the central bank issued M-2023-037, dated Dec. 15.

As of Oct. 31, there are 56 banks and e-money issuers that are charging individuals as much as P25 per Intaspay transaction, and 54 such institutions that charge individuals as much as P600 per PESONet transaction.

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At the same time, there are 51 BSP-supervised institutions that are charging corporations or organizations as much as P25 per Intaspay transaction, and 69 such institutions that charge groups as much as P600 per PESONet transaction.

“The central bank is working with the industry to bring more of our countrymen into the fold of the formal financial system,” Remolona said. INQ